As development and climate change continue, losses from extreme floods
throughout the world skyrocket. Researchers from the International Institute
for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), in Austria have projected that the losses
in Europe could more than double by 2050. In the new study which is published
in the journal Nature Climate Change, they contend that understanding
the risk posed by large-scale floods is of growing importance and will be key
for managing climate adaptation.

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Socioeconomic growth accounts for about two-thirds of the increased
risk, as development leads to more buildings and infrastructure that could be
damaged in a flood. The other third of the increase comes from climate change,
which is projected to change rainfall patterns in Europe.

"In this study we brought together expertise from the fields of
hydrology, economics, mathematics and climate change adaptation, allowing us
for the first time to comprehensively assess continental flood risk and compare
the different adaptation options," says Brenden Jongman of the Institute
for Environmental Studies in Amsterdam, who coordinated the study.

The study estimated that floods in the European Union averaged €4.9
billion a year from 2000 to 2012. These average losses could increase to €23.5
billion by 2050. In addition, large events such as the 2013 European floods are
likely to increase in frequency from an average of once every 16 years to a
probability of once every 10 years by 2050.

The analysis combined models of climate change and socioeconomic
development to build a better estimate of flood risk for the region. IIASA
researcher Stefan Hochrainer-Stigler led the modeling work on the study.

He says, "The new study for the first time accounts for the
correlation between floods in different countries. Current risk-assessment
models assume that each river basin is independent. But in actuality, river
flows across Europe are closely correlated, rising and falling in response to
large-scale atmospheric patterns that bring rains and dry spells to large
regions."

"If the rivers are flooding in Central Europe, they are likely to
also be flooding Eastern European regions," says Hochrainer-Stigler.
"We need to be prepared for larger stress on risk financing mechanisms,
such as the pan-European Solidarity Fund (EUSF), a financial tool for financing
disaster recovery in the European Union."

For example, the analysis suggests that the EUSF must pay out funds
simultaneously across many regions. This can cause unacceptable stresses to
such risk financing mechanisms.